Berkshire completed a 4-0 shutout of the visiting Cuyahoga Heights Red Wolves in a Chagrin Valley Conference crossover match Oct. 2 behind a Nathan Benson hat trick.
Berkshire completed a 4-0 shutout of the visiting Cuyahoga Heights Red Wolves in a Chagrin Valley Conference crossover match Oct. 2 behind a Nathan Benson hat trick.
The win brought the Badgers boys’ soccer team to 7-9 on the season as they prepare for the playoffs in the coming weeks.
“Getting these wins before the playoffs is going to be refreshing for the guys,” Berkshire Head Coach Russ Buckley said. “We had a mid-season slump after a good start, and it was hard to make substitutions with our short roster. We had some pretty good games last week.”
Four minutes into the first half, Roman Percic connected with Benson on a cross, and the latter buried the kick for a 1-0 lead.
Benson doubled the lead in the 19th, and Percic added the third first-half goal just eight minutes later, leading to a 3-0 halftime lead.
Benson completed his hatty in the 69th minute to complete the shutout, giving him his fifth game with three or more scores.
“He matches up there really well with Roman (Percic),” Coach Buckley said. “(Nathan) is high the rankings in the state and CVC with goals scored. He’s doing really well in his points. For being a sophomore, Nathan is doing really well, and I’m glad we have him for at least two more years so we can develop him a little bit more.”
The Badgers had lost seven in a row leading into Sept. 30, when they thumped Fuchs Mizrachi, 18-0, extending that winning streak against Cuyahoga Heights.
“We switched up the midfield, and with some of our multi-sport athletes missing games, it hurts,” Coach Buckley said. “We took a beating against some of those teams, and we can play physical, but there is a cost in playing that way. I was trying to avoid that, and save my players as much as I could so that we had something in the end and do something in the playoffs.”
All the ups and downs this team has faced have also opened up opportunities for the team to learn, grow, and become a better soccer team at the end of it all.
“I want to make this a soccer culture,” Coach Buckley said. “When we played Chagrin Falls, it showed up some of the stuff that we’re trying to incorporate into the Badger culture. It was nice to see that, playing against real soccer. It’s the same thing with Kirtland. And yeah, we took a hit, but we got to see some really good programs, coaching and players. We’re trying to tie all of that together.”
Finishing off the regular season on a three-game winning streak would be a good way to create a full head of steam heading toward tournament play.
“It would be great for us, if we can finish 8-9, that would be a good way to finish the year,” said the coach. “As tough as the middle of the season was, we learned a lot. This group of young men is very coachable, and they want to learn. They’re actually learning how to play soccer, and I love to see that development.”
Berkshire would host Independence on Oct. 7 to wrap up the 2025 regular season.
